Adopting From Guatemala: U.S. Immigration Overview

In 2004, 3500 immigrant visa applications were granted to children adopted by American citizens. The processing of these visas in two parts, the first dealt with by the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE) and the latter by the State Department Consular in Guatemala.

The DHS/ICE office at the US Embassy will initially assess your documents to ensure that the adoption is legal and complete, and that your child is categorized as an “orphan” (as defined in US immigration law). Once the Officers are satisfied that these criteria have been met, your I-600 petition to “Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative” will be considered.

Once this has been approved, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the United States will forward your approved I-600A “Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition” to the Consular Section in Guatemala. This document will then be filed and you will be invited to an Adoption Immigrant Visa Interview.

A description of the process and estimated time frame are given below:

1. You will need to apply to the US DHS District or sub-office for an I-600A form, confirming your eligibility to adopt a child overseas, as well as an I171H and either a Visa 37, 38, or 39. This part of the process can take up to six months but these documents do not need to be confirmed before you can progress.
2. Proof of orphan status will be collected by your Guatemalan attorney. The appropriate USCIS form, “Autorizacion para iniciar prueba de ADN”, should take around two months to process.
3. After step two has been completed, your attorney will submit a DNA test for the child and their biological mother. Results are usually received within thirty days.
4. Approval of the test results must then be granted by the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS/ICE). The biological mother’s completes the Consentimiento document, legally relinquishing her responsibility for the child to your attorney. This stage of the process usually takes around 6 weeks.
5. Your attorney can now apply for a Guatemalan passport for your child. You can expect this to take about twenty days.
6. Processing of the Guatemalan court documents by PGN and your attorney will take a further two months.
7. At this stage, your attorney will submit your adoption case file to DHS/ICE and you will be granted a ‘pink’ interview within two business days.
8. After the immigration interview, the child will need to undergo a medical examination. The exam must be carried out by a doctor named on the approved list of physicians. This can usually be carried out on the same day.

Once these steps have been completed, you will need to process your child’s immigrant visa application.

1. The I-600 is a petition to classify an adopted child as an orphan, and it must be signed at the immigration interview and filed in the US. This can usually be dealt with in a single day.
2. The Immigrant Visa application form is the DS230 and must be filed at the Consular Section. Approval will be granted (or refused) at the interview.
3. In the cases of IR-4 category adoptions, an I-864 or “Affidavit of Support” should be filed with the Consular Section. Approval will be granted (or refused) at the interview.
4. All children in categories IR-3 and IR-4 will need an immigrant visa, and you should receive this the day after your interview, along with your child’s new birth certificate and adoption papers.

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